Ch.167162 – Burden of Proof

“NoName, it’s a bit sudden, but since we’ve become family by fate… let me say again, nice to meet you.”

Se-min awkwardly extended his right hand toward me.

“Must have been quite entertaining for you? Enjoying the drama from such a good seat.”

“No, it wasn’t intentional…! What was I supposed to do in that situation?!”

“That’s just your opinion. Actually, Se-min-ssi.”

“Hey, that hurts…! Since you already called me oppa, why not keep doing it?”

How nice would it be if Korea also had a culture of calling each other by first names.

Good cultural practices should be adopted by everyone.

“We’ll see. Aren’t you busy though? Isn’t it exam period?”

“When is it not exam period? Wait… are you trying to kick me out?”

“At least you’re not completely oblivious.”

“We’ve only met in VR before, this is actually our first face-to-face meeting, and you’re being so cold, NoName.”

“I am grateful that you submitted the reapplication form for me. Seems your offer to help wasn’t just empty words.”

My head hurts. I took some ice from the freezer, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and placed it on my forehead.

The coolness spreading across my head was welcome.

[Casting: Diagnosis]

“What are you doing?”

“Checking my cortisol levels.”

“You know about cortisol? Wow… you really do know everything, don’t you?”

“Not everything. I only know what I know.”

The levels are fairly normal.

So I can assume that my crying earlier was just my body’s way of returning to normal.

“So where did Professor Cheon go?”

Professor Cheon had a brief conversation with Se-min while I was washing my face in the bathroom, then hurriedly left.

“He probably went to meet my dad.”

“Why would Professor Cheon meet your father?”

“Well… my dad was probably the prosecutor in charge of the Walpurgis case…”

What?

In my excitement, my hands moved faster than my thoughts.

Before I knew it, I was grabbing the young man’s collar and shouting.

“Why are you only telling me this now?! Ha, so the villain was right here…! They say it’s darkest under the lamp indeed…”

This is exactly like the plot of that novel popular among debutante ladies in my previous life, “I Married My Enemy’s Son”!

But what can I do? I’m prepared to kill even the parents of someone who saved me!

“You’ve got it wrong! My dad was handling a case in Jeju at that time! He was at the Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office…”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, he was probably the Deputy Chief Prosecutor at Jeju… look it up.”

I gently released his collar. Noticing his shirt was wrinkled, I smoothed it out with my aura.

“…I’ll spare your life.”

“Wow, so shameless…! Anyway, since it was a nationwide incident, he’s probably visiting my dad, who’s now the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District.”

“Chief Prosecutor… and of Seoul no less. I can’t say he’s completely unrelated then?”

“Please stop casting my dad as the villain… While I personally don’t like him much either, I do think he’s at least moral and honest.”

I heard him talking on the phone with Professor Cheon.

His voice by the elevator was loud enough to penetrate the front door.

I considered using my aura to eavesdrop but decided against it. He must have his reasons.

“…”

“…”

We just stared at each other blankly, neither speaking.

“If you’re done looking, you can leave now.”

“That’s harsh. I rushed out in the middle of PK (poly-klinic) after getting a call from your father.”

PK? From context, it’s probably not a penalty kick? Though even a penalty kick would be problematic.

“I don’t know what that is, but is that okay?”

“Of course not. So play with me a little. Your uncle asked me to.”

I guess he’s not the type to leave without worrying about me.

He must have earnestly asked Se-min to look after me. That’s why he’s been dragging this out.

“Then help me record a video.”

“What video? Oh, the one where you expose everything at the competition?”

“Yes. So stop lying around and help!”

I pulled Se-min’s arm to get him up.

Then I pointed to the camera on the high shelf and asked him to get it for me.

I didn’t need to use my aura for this. That would be a waste of energy.

While I was checking if the camera was powered on, Se-min sat on the sofa and kept observing me.

“NoName.”

“What now? Stop being annoying.”

“Just looking at you, I’m curious. Do you consider yourself a genius too?”

“I’m just mentally mature.”

“Really? I don’t think so…”

“Then think whatever you want—mana potion side effects or whatever.”

“If that were true, it would be something to report to academia. How’s the academy? Have you seen other geniuses like yourself there?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s a question a cute junior who was vice president in high school once asked me. Just curious.”

“You were in student council?”

“I told you I was student council president back in the day!”

“Wow… says a lot about the school’s standards…”

My hands paused while setting up the camera.

If someone asked me if I’d ever seen a genius in my life, I could confidently say yes.

Maria Euphrasia Terraruby.

The master of the Dark Magic Tower.

She was the most outstanding talent in the Kaizen Empire, mastering not only magic, which forms the foundation of scholarship, but also economics, political science, statistics, astronomy, logic, algebra, physics, and medicine—an inhuman existence.

This is different from the blue lizard who simply accumulated knowledge over hundreds of years.

The ivory tower of knowledge she built with a human body in just 50 years was truly unapproachable.

So when I tried to challenge her with the shallow knowledge of relativity theory and quantum mechanics I learned in my first life:

[I heard some kid from the academy was bragging about their good memory.]

I acutely realized how wrong the modern concept of genius was.

[Is that you, idiot?]

Instead, God fairly gave her the traits of a broken personality and alcoholism.

She happened to be the person I respected most.

“There aren’t any at the academy now. Among people I know, there might be one. Here.”

Enough chatting. I handed the camera to Se-min.

Click-

“No, don’t take pictures yet… actually, take one to check the composition. Let’s see how it looks.”

Click-

Click Click Click-

“Are you taking proper pictures?”

“Ah! My camera!”

I look back at the photos just taken.

Among some normal photos, I found one with my nostrils filling the entire screen in extreme close-up. Delete.

“Stop messing around and do it properly. I’m being serious now.”

“Okay, I get it! But what about the script? Do you have something in mind?”

“I’m thinking about it. Give me some ideas.”

I’ve always been bad with words.

I’ve had countless misunderstandings due to what I’ve said, and plenty of problems from not speaking at all.

Just as creating magic circles from mathematical formulas is a talent, I believed that combining language to create persuasive sentences for the public was also a talent.

If my eloquence had been brilliant, I could have become Hitler in my previous life.

Though the ending—getting beaten up and dying—would have been the same.

“I’m a science major too, so I’m terrible at writing.”

“You’re not being helpful at all.”

“It hurts oppa’s heart to hear that from a seven-year-old?”

“I won’t call you oppa no matter how subtly you try. The beginning is what matters.”

There’s a saying that the beginning is half the battle.

No matter how bad the latter part is, if I could somehow make the beginning good, it could turn out to be a decent video.

If I were to be interviewed, what would the public see first when my prepared video is played?

And what would they think when they see me?

Curiosity? What exactly is curiosity? At least it wouldn’t be the same feeling as seeing a giraffe at the zoo.

Denial? Many people wouldn’t believe I’m fourteen, let alone seven. Would the public easily accept it just because the avatar is the same?

When something happens that defies common sense, it’s human nature to deny it first.

In the end, it was important to present my usual self exactly as I am in reality.

“What was your first impression of me?”

I asked Se-min.

He’s someone who can see me objectively. Professor Cheon is less reliable.

“I wanted to find you and beat you up?”

“…Not in the game. I mean when you found out I was seven.”

“I thought someone was scamming me. I barely accepted it when I went to the orphanage and confirmed your name.”

“I guess everyone would feel that way?”

Right, it’s an absurd story.

The fact that I survived despite being trapped in a capsule from birth for 7 years is too unrealistic for the public to accept.

“Appealing to emotions has always been a good method. Just do what you did with your uncle today.”

“…”

“Ah, sorry…! You don’t want to do that. Then what should we do, hmm.”

Want me to cry again?

Honestly, I won’t cry again.

Except when I meet Seol-ah.

“Since the living room is a bit strange, how about filming in your room? Wouldn’t that be more natural?”

“I don’t see what difference it would make… but okay.”

I led Se-min to my room.

The desk is still messy with scattered papers.

There’s enough space to walk, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“What’s all this? Numbers?”

Se-min pointed at a yellow Post-it note.

“Oh, this. 1049 and 1051. What do these two numbers have in common?”

“Hmm… they’re both prime numbers.”

Se-min answered immediately.

“That’s right. Prime numbers with a difference of 2 are called twin primes.”

I liked these names in mathematics and physics.

A difference of 2 makes twin primes, 4 makes cousin primes, and 6 makes sexy primes.

“No… that’s not what I’m asking.”

Se-min backs away from me again.

“Oh. I can’t write on the walls, so I used Post-its.”

After slowly walking around and appreciating the entire wall, he finally spoke.

“What’s written all over this wall?”

“It’s a proof that there are infinitely many twin primes.”

“Did you learn this by yourself from the internet?”

“No? Why would I solve a problem that’s already been proven?”

Mathematics is just a puzzle.

You can buy and solve a 1000-piece puzzle as a hobby.

The thrill and excitement felt when solving a puzzle for the first time can never be found again after the second attempt.

“I solved it because it hadn’t been solved.”

An untimely silence.

After hearing that, Se-min took a deep breath, bent his knees to meet my eye level.

“NoName… I just realized an incredible truth.”

He leaned in with such a serious face that I instinctively leaned back.

“W-what is it?”

“You don’t need to struggle to convince the public. Just show them that you’re a treasure that will never exist again in this country.”

“Treasure…? What?”

Se-min gave a meaningful smile and raised both arms toward the sky.

“Make people feel they can’t help but protect you. Then the public will prove it themselves.”

“Why are you acting like you have middle school syndrome? Did you eat something weird?”

Se-min whispered his plan to me.

“What do you think? Good, right?”

“Did you eat something weird?”